Greenville is located in Hunt County, of which it is the county seat, northeast of Dallas toward Paris along I-30 .
In February 1951 Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Company (TEMCO) arrived for the purpose of overhauling aircraft, generally for the armed services. By 1960 TEMCO employed 2,200; by the late 1960s, following a 1961 merger, Ling-TEMCO-Vought (LYV) employed 4,600, the city's largest employer.
The community's population increased from 19,200 in the mid-1960s to 23,650 by 1976. During the mid-1970s LTV sold its Majors Field facilities to E-Systems Corporation, a major electronics and defense contractor, which has remained the city's largest employer.
In 1990 the city had a population of 27,750 and 422 rated businesses.